12/02/2005
NEWS STORY
West McLaren Mercedes completed its four day testing programme at the Jerez circuit on Friday.
Kimi and Juan Pablo were present at the final day of testing, with both drivers' programmes focusing on simulated qualifying runs in the morning and endurance runs in the afternoon. Kimi completed 102 laps, with Juan Pablo completing 96 laps. Juan Pablo set the second fastest time of the day with Kimi setting the fifth fastest time.
This week the team ran two MP4-20s in tandem, with Juan Pablo's car sporting the roll hoop mid wing, part of the aerodynamic package on the team's 2005 car. Juan Pablo was also working with his race team engineers and mechanics for the first time.
The three drivers Kimi, Juan Pablo and Pedro completed a total of approx. 2493 km over the course of the four day test.
The first day of the programme saw Juan Pablo and Pedro de la Rosa in action with Juan Pablo driving a new chassis. Rain the previous evening delayed the start of running until the track began to dry, with Juan Pablo carrying out general set up work and Pedro completing long runs.
On Wednesday the primary focus of the test was tyre development work ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. Pedro lost an hour and a half's running time in the afternoon with a damaged radiator while Juan Pablo had a trouble free day.
A damaged suspension part on Kimi's car meant that he was unable to take part in the penultimate day of the test, and the damaged part was flown back to the McLaren Technology Centre for a comprehensive forensic analysis. Juan Pablo's programme focused on tyre selection for the Malaysian Grand Prix in the morning, however a clutch problem in the afternoon meant that he was unable to run for the remainder of the day.
Martin Whitmarsh: "We have had a productive test this week in Jerez where we ran two MP4-20s for the first time. The team took the precaution not to run Kimi on Thursday due to a damaged suspension part, however new parts were flown over to Jerez later that day to allow him to complete the final day of testing.
"Juan Pablo had three trouble free days of testing, but was affected by a clutch problem on Thursday. However it is important to say that it is not unusual for problems to occur during this stage of the testing process and it is better that these issues are resolved now and do not happen over a grand prix weekend."
Norbert Haug: "A test with encouraging results for everybody in the team. We put 1,100 kms on one and 1,300 kms on another engine, when Pedro, Juan Pablo and Kimi posted competitive lap times. The final test in Barcelona before the first Grand Prix in Melbourne will give us an even clearer indication of where we are compared to our competition."